Tesla's U.S. sales may have peaked

Sunday

Apr 13, 2014 at 12:01 AMApr 13, 2014 at 2:34 PM

Have Tesla sales stalled? That's what analysts are asking after looking at the electric-car company's latest sales data. Tesla Motors Inc. sold about 1,600 of its Model S sports sedans in the U.S. in March, just slightly more than it sold in the same month a year earlier, according to AutoData Corp.

Have Tesla sales stalled?

That’s what analysts are asking after looking at the electric-car company’s latest sales data.

Tesla Motors Inc. sold about 1,600 of its Model S sports sedans in the U.S. in March, just slightly more than it sold in the same month a year earlier, according to AutoData Corp. Through the first three months of this year, Tesla has sold 4,700 cars in the U.S., up not quite

1 percent from the same period a year earlier.

“We believe that Model S demand in the U.S. has plateaued,” said Brian Johnson, an analyst with Barclays Capital.

Johnson said U.S. sales of the Model S, which starts at about $71,000, peaked in the second quarter of last year.

“To a large extent, the early adopters have gotten their fix,” said Thilo Koslowski, an analyst with Gartner Inc. “Tesla has to conquer new segments of buyers.”

It will be hard to expand sales volume because, Koslowski said, “The price point is still pretty high for a typical consumer to embrace the car.”

The pressure is on for Tesla to bring out its Generation 3 electric car, which is expected to sell for less than $40,000 when it hits the market in several years. But the timing is so far off that Tesla might see more competition from traditional automakers selling alternative-fuel vehicles before the car hits the market, Koslowski said.

For now, that leaves international markets for the prime source of Tesla growth until it brings out its next vehicle, the Model X sport-utility vehicle, which is scheduled to go on sale in 2015.

“Tesla will be dependent on strong Chinese demand,” Johnson said. “While we expect strong initial interest from early adopters in China, we see challenges to broader luxury-market adoption."